Chris Beard Inks Massive New Contract With Texas Tech Basketball

The long Lubbock nightmare is over. Chris Beard has inked his new contract with Texas Tech University.

The contract, according to TexasTech.com, is a brand new six-year deal through the 2024-25 season. The average annual salary for Beard is $4.575 million, making him the highest paid coach in the Big 12.

"Thank you to President Schovanec, Kirby Hocutt, Tony Hernandez, Chancellor Mitchell and the Board of Regents for making this strong commitment to both me and our men's basketball program," Beard said in a press release from the university. "Thank you to our players and staff, both former and current, for your commitment to winning. Special thanks to our fans and our students for your incredible support and passion. Together we have accomplished some great things in the past three years but we are not satisfied and will continue working tirelessly to build one of the best college basketball programs in the nation."

The new contract comes on the heels of going to the Elite 8 in back-to-back seasons, winning a Final 4 game and competing in the National Championship game. Beard also led the team to its first regular season Big 12 title ever and the winningest season in program history. Beard is 76-31 in his first three seasons at Texas Tech.

In the same press release, Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt said this of Beard:

"In only three years, Chris Beard has elevated Texas Tech to the upper echelon of college basketball. The 2018 Elite Eight, and this year's appearance in the National Championship game has raised the entire profile of Texas Tech Athletics and is a source of great pride for all Red Raiders. I am appreciative of the continued loyalty and personal commitment that Chris has made to continue to lead our program into the future. He is widely respected as one of the best coaches in the nation and I could not be more excited that through various resources, we have been able to invest into our basketball program at one of the highest levels in the nation."

Chris Beard also has a top-15 recruiting class locked in for 2019. A national audience is building for what he's doing at Texas Tech. The hype is also bleeding into other sports, with the entire athletic department feeling the bump from Texas Tech Basketball's elite run in the last two seasons.